Xinjiang Traffic Jam

Eleanor Moseman and her Soma Saga made their way into the city of Urumqi this week -- in Xinjiang Province in Western China.
And she shared this video on her Facebook page. (Gets more interesting at the 50s mark)
The place is generally very arid so I am surprised to see all the snow. You may remember this is the place with all the riots a couple years back between the native Uighurs and the Chinese. Xinjiang is also where they filmed The Kite Runner, though that was in a different city. "After 10,000 miles toured and 3 years lived in China, Urumqi gets my vote for the best city with night markets and street food."

48 x 15 - New Urban Bike Mag Outta Shanghai

Who would've thought that a city that's been doing the "bicycle as transportation" thing longer and definitely bigger than any city in the U.S. would choose now to come out with a urban cycling magazine; especially with cars taking off as they are there. This is a new China, still Communist, but with where many urbanites have money to spend and the youth have time to develop a love for riding.

Also there are so many expats from Europe and America living there who want to show off the culture they've discovered there and share their Western culture as well. Enter the People's Bike website and their new print/web zine 48x15, the creations of expat Canadian Tyler Bowa. Check it out not just to look at our new "70's boring" handlebar ad, but to see what beer in China doesn't taste like it came from the Yellow River.

Besides the articles on the history of bikes in China and the NuVinci Hub thrash test, I was kind of drawn to this ad for a bamboo pedicab designed by a MGT Engineering. It's got a sleek bamboo cockpit and a TIG-welded 304 stainless steel frame. It is only about a meter wide, so it is legal on bike paths. Looks like a lot of fun to ride. And one can see it adaptable to being a cargo bike, one you can ride comfortably in the rain no less. Here's a video.

Saga of Two Sagas

Taken at 5100 meters (that over 15,000 ft) above sea level

What are the chances of two Soma Saga owners meeting each other on their own solo tours on a remote road on the Sichuan(China)-Tibet border??? The world is a huge place. We've made less than 999 Sagas in total I believe. I'd say it's pretty darn impossible.

Our favorite American expat in China, Eleanor Moseman is in the middle of a 10,000k trek though Mongolia, Russia and China. While in Litang in Southern China, she heard someone behind her speaking good English "You have my bike!" She reported on her Facebook page she ran into someone riding another Soma Saga bicycle. We didn't know who the gentleman was until a few weeks later. While they were riding in Sichuan many homes were still running on generators after the devastating earthquake a few years back. So instead of imposing on folks to juice up her laptop and phone, she opted to lose contact her friends for about 10 days. This concerned her boyfriend so much that he contacted us to see if we knew who she might have ran into. Of course we had no idea. We find out later that the guy on the other Saga was Brandon, who is from SF and had purchased from Pedal Revolution the original Saga prototype . OMG, right? The last (and first) time we had heard from him was in October when he sent us a photo from Guatemala.

The two are both making their way to Kashgar in the Xinjiang province way out in the western-most part of China. For you movie buffs, Kashgar was where the Kite Runner was filmed.

Eleanor is doing this ride for fun but also for charity. Learn more about what she is riding for here.

Bust Magazine Features Eleanor Moseman and her Saga

If you've been following our blog, you'll know that Moseman set off on an ambitious trek across China, Mongolia, and Russia back in April, a mostly solo journey close to 10,000 km in length. She had too cut her journey short (if you can call 7600 km, short) to take care of an emergency in Shanghai where she calls home, but she vows to finish what she started in the next couple of months. We applaud Moseman on her physical and mental tenacity and Bust Magazine for recognizing what an inspiration she is.
Click on the image below to read the article by Pheobe Magee.


(We gave her a Soma Saga for the ride,
which she calls "Lieutenant".)

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